A recent Google acquisition of DoubleClick for a whopping USD 3.1 billion has turned many heads. The recent past certainly does not fit into Google's traditional non-aggressive attitude towards acquisitions for monopoly in the market. DoubleClick Inc., a spearhead in ad-serving, is only one of many companies acquired by Google. A comprehensive list can be seen here. Beside Google's acquisitions, this article will also explore some changes in Google's philosophy and potential threats to web community.

I don't think you undestand quite how powerful the Chinese government is internally. It is not a demoncracy - there is nobody you can complain to, protests are illegal. If Google had offered unfiltered searches, and then denied to comply when asked by the government, a bunch of government officers and police men would break into the Google office and cart off the employess to jail, without trial, to dissappear under the rug and not be heard of again.